Uefa Nations League play-off first leg: Bulgaria 1 Ireland 2
Ireland’s Troy Parrott gets a shot away despite attention from Lukas Petkov. Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Woeful in Wembley but powerful in Plovdiv, Ireland’s shape-shifters proved they could clear the hangover fumes from that meek surrender to England by delivering a morale-boosting win over another tricky old foe, Bulgaria.
Heimir Hallgrimsson didn’t just tinker with the team which was so supine against England, he took a sledgehammer to it and made some brave calls. And dropping Irish football’s leading light (Evan Ferguson), and starting a player not worthy of a place in the original squad (Ryan Manning), worked to his advantage.